ParisUkraine won its first gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Saturday, thanks to a victory over South Korea in the women’s team fencing sabre final.
The Ukrainians rallied from a six-point deficit to defeat the South Koreans 45-42, with 22 points contributed by individual bronze medalist Olga Kharlan.
Kharlan came in for the final stage of the match, when his team was down 40-37, and contributed to the victory by going 8-2 up.
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Ukraine had already won two medals before Saturday’s final, a silver for Serhiy Kulish in shooting and the bronze that Kharlan won on Monday in sabre.
It was an emotional moment for Kharlan, a year after she was disqualified from the world championships for refusing to shake the hand of a Russian rival, putting her Olympic qualification in doubt.
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That incident highlighted tensions over whether Russian athletes should be allowed to continue competing after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Kharlan, a five-time Olympian, claimed her sixth medal at the Games, a career that began with a gold in the women’s team sabre at Beijing 2008 when she was 17.
Japan beat France 45-40 to take bronze. It was a surprise, as the home team included individual gold medalist Mannon Apithy-Brunet and silver medalist Sara Balzer.
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– 2024-08-06 15:56:27
